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Dr Scott Nimmo, Small Animal Veterinary Surgeon.

Category: Vet

Satisfied Customers: 21528

Experience: BVMS, MRCVS. { Glasgow UK }

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Hello my 4 month yr old puppy yorkie jumped off the settee,

Customer Question

Hello my 4 month yr old puppy yorkie jumped off the settee, which she does day in day out, but earlier she did it landed and then just sat there and stared at me, so I called her over and I noticed she was holding her right hind leg up, I've inspected the paw, and the leg there is no obvious cuts, swelling etc , she slept for a couple of hours then was doing what she normally does, except on 3 legs, she scratches herself with the injured leg and is eating and drinking like usually and also going the toilet aswell please help, the earliest appointment I can get is Friday what can I do ??? Thanks callum

Hello and Welcome, my name is Scott and I am an experienced small animal veterinary surgeon, I will be very pleased to work with you today and will try my best to answer your question to your satisfaction.

Scott Nimmo :

Sorry to hear about Millie's problem, so this happened today?

Scott Nimmo :

While there can be no guarantees I can tell you that serious injuries in this sort of situation with pups in Millie's age group are fairly rare, it would be more common for this to be something very much less serious such as a muscular strain or sprain.

Scott Nimmo :

Of course if the problem continues then you should have her checked over by your vet at the first opportunity but in many cases three or four days strict rest plus anti-inflammatory drugs and then a gradual return to exercise will resolve things if this is just a strain or sprain.

JACUSTOMER-2u9lyra9- :Is there anything I can do to encourage her to put weight on it

Scott Nimmo :

If your vet thinks this is a strain or sprain then he or she may prescribe a prescription anti-inflammatory drug but I know that some owners use aspirin in this sort of situation and report success. On a short term home remedy aspirin would be much safer and more effective than the other over the counter human pain killers and aspirin is sometimes prescribed for dogs. A typical dose rate would be 5 mg per pound of your dog's body weight twice daily. The judgment whether to dose with aspirin is of course up to you but here is a link to a an accurate web page with all the facts you might need including contraindications : LINK

Scott Nimmo :

I know your little Yorkie is very small but you may be able to split a junior aspirin.

JACUSTOMER-2u9lyra9- :She is very tiny, but she is

Scott Nimmo :

" Is there anything I can do to encourage her to put weight on it " : Not really I am afraid, the way to go would be to just go for very strict rest, perhaps using something like a wire cat basket. Resting it as much as possible would encourage a bit of healing and then as I said a gradual return to exercise. A drug to reduce pain and inflammation will also help. Of course if something more serious is going on your vet will pick it up.

JACUSTOMER-2u9lyra9- :Still trying to play a be her normal self in your honest opinion does this sound more serious than a sprain if it does it will take her the emergency vet which is costly

Scott Nimmo :

There is no way of saying at present if this is serious or not but in my experience most of these are minor injuries such as strains or sprains so the odds are with you. Common sense treatment such as I have outlined in any case will not make things worse if this does turn out to be something more serious ...

Scott Nimmo :

These things always happen over the Christmas period !

Scott Nimmo :

It is very encouraging that she is still trying to play ...

Scott Nimmo :

The bottom line is that many of these injuries will resolve with rest but if it does not start to improve after two three days rest or she gets worse in the meantime then you should have a vet check her over. Good luck, Scott.

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